MESSAGE INTERCEPT ID: 11573982

RECEIVED 0330 CST FROM ALDERAAN STATION 113

ATTN ALL STATIONS ALDERA UNDER ATTACK RPT UNDER ATTACK BY LARGE BATTLEFLEET 0230 HRS ALDERAAN DEFENSE FORCES NEUTRALIZED BY PRECISION BOMBARDMENT LANDING FORCE FOLLOWED 0245 EST CORPS STRENGTH INCL INFANTRY, ARTILLERY, AND ARMORED ELEMENTS CIVILLIANS BEING SHOT ON SIGHT ALL RECEIVING FORWARD TO CORUSCANT FLT. HQ IMMEDIATELY TRANSMISSIONS JAMMING HEAVY ALL FREQS EXPECT MESSAGE TERMIN.

[END MESSAGE, SIGNAL LOST]

Mace Windu handed the datapad back to the Supreme Chancellor. Apparently, a Fleet monitoring station had been able to bypass the jamming by sending a message on a little-used frequency often utilized by smuggler vessels. A Corellian freighter had forwarded the message to the Fleet shortly thereafter, and unfortunately, other ships had leaked the news to the press. Once again, the entire Republic was in turmoil.

Supreme Chancellor Palpatine had convened a meeting of Jedi Master Mace Windu, Alderaan Senator Bail Organa, and Admiral Rik Haas, the senior fleet commander of the Republic Navy upon receiving the transmission.

"We do not know the total strength of the Mandalorians' forces," Master Windu stated. "Skywalker, Kenobi, and Senator Naberrie have discovered the enemy is using clone technology to create soldiers. It is possible that the facility discovered on Wayland is but one of several, and we should not assume that the forces involved in the Aldera invasion are all, or even the bulk of their strength. This move could be a ploy to draw out our fleet while other forces attack different targets. Containment and putting all our forces on high alert status would be my recommendation."

"But that leaves the initiative to the enemy!" exclaimed Admiral Haas. The Admiral's tough, weathered features indicated his aggressive tactical style and disdain for cautious, defensive warfare. "Even if the forces on Aldera are but a portion of the enemy's strength, we should not ignore the opportunity to inflict heavy losses on their fleet, and occupying them in battle could buy us time to redeploy our own assets to defend strategic targets, while an engagement could provide us with valuable intelligence about the enemy which we are currently lacking."

"Either choice presents grave risk," Palpatine said. "Yet I will NOT allow Alderaan to be sacrificed while I am Supreme Chancellor, so help me!" He slammed his fist down on his desk, punctuating his statement.

"I agree," Organa added. "If the enemy is committing mass murder in our capital city, he must be destroyed utterly, and immediately, before he is able to threaten other cities of Alderaan or other systems. My planet is close to both Coruscant and Kuat, as well as other strategic targets, and would provide the enemy with an ideal base of operations for mounting an offensive. Furthermore, opinions among the Senators are clearly in favor of immediate action."

"I was NOT implying that Alderaan, or any other planet, should be sacrificed," Windu countered. "But it is the opinion of the Jedi Council that we know, whether from the Force or conventional intelligence, far to little about the enemy to commit decisively."

"I understand, Master Jedi," Palpatine answered, having calmed down from his momentary outburst. "And I am as concerned about the loss of life, both military and civilian, as any other man here. But first Moe's assassination, second the destruction on Naboo, and now an invasion - if we refuse to act now, the citizens of the Republic will loose confidence in the ability of the government to protect them. And that, gentlemen, is a far more dangerous threat than any Starfleet."

Mace merely nodded gravely in assent.

"Very well. We are in agreement. In that case I shall prepare to address the Senate with the help of Senators Organa and Naberrie tomorrow. Admiral, I will seek authorization from the Senate to release the 5th Fleet. Begin preparations for the recapture of Aldera. Master Windu, have the Council report to me at once with their decision on this matter."

**

"The Chair now recognizes the Senator from the sovereign system of Naboo."

The pod belonging to Padme Amidala, now returning to speak in her official capacity, moved slowly toward the center of the Senate chamber.

"Senators of the Republic," Padme began, her voice loud, clear, and determined, "Our institutions and our freedom are threatened by a ruthless, merciless enemy. This enemy has only one goal - to inflict terror and death on our citizens, and to destroy the principles upon which our Republic is founded: freedom, peace, law and order, and the opportunity for all sentients to prosper. I do not wish for war, having seen its horrors personally far more than I have ever wished, yet I know that on some occasions, freedom and peace must be defended with force.

The threat is not just to Naboo, or Alderaan, but to us all. We are bound by the oaths we have taken to be keepers of the public trust, to uphold the Constitution and the Republic, and to protect those we serve - not just our own constituencies, but all citizens of the Republic. As such, we in good conscience, have only one choice, however strongly we detest war. This body must grant the Supreme Chancellor the authority to defend our freedom by force of arms.

Bail Organa and I have promised that if this resolution is passed, we will stand with the men in the front lines. We will not shrink from the consequences of the resolution we have submitted, and while the rest of you cannot enter the field directly, you can support those who do so by the force of your resolve and by a strong show of unity and purpose."

The cheers coming from the thousands of Senate pods were deafening in volume and intensity, and Palpatine let them go on for several minutes before calling again for order.

An hour later, the resolution to authorize the use of military force, which required under the Constitution a two-thirds majority, had passed by the unheard-of margin of ninety percent.

**

Darth Raptor stood on a small, rocky hill overlooking the ridge which covered the approaches to the vast southern beaches of the island of Aldera. Along the ridge line, dozens of combat engineering vehicles and thousands of troops with digging equipment were removing vast amounts of earth, constructing a formidable network of trenches and earthen parapets. Other teams of engineers were pouring duracrete into molds for massive bunkers all along the lines, carefully sited to provide deadly interlocking, mutually supporting fields of fire, to catch the enemy in killing zones. Others planted repulsor-activated mines and antitank obstacles on the beach itself.

Out of sight, other teams continued the grisly task of removing the thousands of massacred civilians into transports which dumped them far out to sea.

A colonel approached the Sith Lord. "My lord, our heavy artillery has just been offloaded. All batteries will be deployed within eight hours."

"Excellent, colonel." He replied, dismissing the officer.

Fett has no inkling of our plans, he mused. The ruthless mercenary General commanding the fleet blockading Alderaan was a skilled soldier, but at heart he was nothing more than a small-time thug with an army. The mandate from his Master was simple: They were supposed to be defeated, but to inflict as many losses on the Republic's elite forces as possible, and then Raptor and a select few officers were to withdraw to the site on Raggi 7, and plan their next strike.

Fett believed they had a chance for victory, but he was a tactician, not a strategist. Despite the cloning technology, the Republic forces, once concentrated, would defeat them by sheer numbers if nothing else. However, that was precisely what his brilliant Master desired. For now, they would tear out the soul of the Republic- Alderaan.

**

General Valar Jaanzon looked out at the men and women, as well as a smattering of alien species, before him. They were ragged, weary, some were wounded. They had lost husbands, wives, children, parents, siblings, and good friends by the most horrible deaths imaginable, at the hands of a terrifying enemy - for the Mandalorians were not interested in rape or plunder, merely in dispensing death in vast quantities with machinelike precision.

He had been away from his command post and found shelter when the attack began, thinking he could help mobilize the devastated military forces within the city, rally them to delay the enemy until help arrived. It was not to be. Every last man in his regiment, as far as he knew, was dead, either in the bombardment or the clean sweep of the city the invading infantry had conducted later on.

Yet he had managed to assemble this ragged band of survivors in the basement of an abandoned warehouse. Most lacked any sort of military or law enforcement training, yet all were galvanized in their desire not for revenge, but for justice. He could see it in their hard stares.

Had he a mirror, he would have seen it in his own. He, like many of them, wished he could have traded places with those who had died, while somehow he had been spared. Yet he was a soldier and he would do his duty to the last.

He addressed the small group before him.

"We are too few and have hardly any weapons. To meet the enemy in battle would only make us die faster. However, we can help those who do have the strength to destroy the invaders. I know none of you are trained in intelligence gathering or reconnaissance, but you have studied the procedures I have given you. You are to deploy in teams of two, at least one of you with a weapon, to your assigned sector. Your task is to observe and report, and remain unseen. Report where the enemy is located, how many there are, what type of units and equipment, and what they are doing. If you can see unit markings, illustrate them as well. Priority should be given to the location of anti-air missile batteries, defended strongpoints, command posts, artillery batteries, sensor stations, and large concentrations of troops and vehicles. Once you return I will collect your reports and send them in a single burst transmission to Fleet Headquarters. The enemy will notice our transmission, and we will have to disperse. Once our own forces have arrived, we will make contact with their commanders and assist them in navigating the city and locating the enemy. We move out at sunset. May the Force be with you."

**

The vast armada of the Republic's Fifth Fleet was formed in an awesome display of power near Corellia. In the van of the formation were dozens of sleek, fast, and powerful Corellian Corvette scouts. The main body consisted of hundreds of heavy cruisers - imposing, bulky Dreadnaughts and sixty of the dagger shaped Victory class Star Destroyers, newly commissioned. Each warship carried several starfighters in their hangars.

Behind the warships was an array of two hundred massive troop transport ships, each in turn equipped to deploy dozens of assault landing transports, which ferried troops and vehicles to the ground. Gunship carriers were included as well, vessels which conveyed the ground-support vehicles into a planet's atmosphere and released them in mid-air.

The Fifth Fleet had been created after the Battle of Naboo as one of the new Supreme Chancellor's first actions. It was designed to be an elite and highly powerful force which could be deployed within seventy-two hours in response to any crisis, and would engage the enemy until more units could be deployed as reinforcements.

The Chancellor had named Admiral Rik Haas, a veteran fighter against Rim pirates and a classmate at the Academy, known for tactical skill, a quick temper, and a relentlessly aggressive fighting style, to lead the Fleet, over the heads of more politically connected yet unimaginative officers who valued tact unlike Haas's sharp tongue and well-known candor, even in the face of powerful politicians.

The ships of the Fifth Fleet were the best-maintained in the Republic, and drew from the best personnel to fill crew billets. Their officers and crew, along with the star pilots, received constant and highly realistic training.

The transports carried the Fleet's ground-based power, the XI Corps. The corps was composed of two Corellian and one Coruscant assault infantry divisions, and a Corellian armored and mechanized infantry division. Attached were dozens of various sized units, including the 17th Royal Naboo Guards Infantry Batallion, a construction batallion, another mechanized infantry brigade, two Gunship Support regiments, and numerous reconnaissance, combat engineering, signal, logistics, medical, artillery, air defense, and support units.

Like the fleet ships, the XI Corps drew from the elite of the personnel resources. The junior officers and noncoms were experienced veterans in operating against pirates, and the forces had conducted training excercises in widely-differing mission and terrain types, and were well-coordinated.

Haas had placed all units on alert status, ordering all personnel to report to their assigned units and to stand by for deployment. The fighter pilots had put in several hours of sim time, and captains were busy making sure their ships and crews were in fighting trim. And now the order had arrived from the Supreme Chancellor - prepare for war.

From the hangar bay of the flagship, the Victory, five tiny objects ejected from the main hangar in the belly of the vessel and entered hyperspace.

**

The reconnaissance probes were only a third of the size of a Headhunter fighter, were unarmored and unshielded, and carried no weapons. However, they were designed to be nearly invisible to enemy sensors, and their own passive sensor equipment was of the most advanced technology in the Fleet. As the probes exited hyperspace near Aldera, they fired engines briefly, taking them towards the planet, to coast toward Aldera until the planet's gravity pulled them into the atmosphere, where they would disentegrate entirely upon reentry. But for now, they were recording data on the vast Mandalorian blockade fleet, sensors picking up the massive power signatures of the capital ship's huge ion drives, recording communications transmissions, into a log which would be transmitted in a short encrypted burst to the Victory just prior to their destruction.